How to deal with intrusive thoughts

Life Kit

NPR

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Kids & Family, Education, Business

4.3 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Have you ever had a disturbing thought pop up into your head? Thoughts that are distressing, repetitive and unwanted are called intrusive thoughts. NPR's senior Visuals producer LA Johnson talks with a therapist and a researcher to figure out what these thoughts mean, where they come from and how best to handle them.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from how to be a better human, a podcast from TED.
0:04.4	Even if you're a self-help skeptic, you'll find inspiration to improve your life from fascinating
0:10.1	in-depth conversations with TED speakers.
0:12.9	Find how to be a better human wherever you listen.
0:16.6	Just a heads up, this episode will discuss suicidal ideation.
0:21.3	If you're having thoughts of self-harm, please seek help immediately through the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.
0:31.0	You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
0:36.8	Hey, it's Mariel.
0:38.4	Have you ever had a scary, maybe violent image pop into your head seemingly out of nowhere?
0:44.8	Maybe it seemed so real that you wondered if it was actually going to happen.
0:48.7	I get these sometimes when I'm driving over bridges.
0:51.5	I picture my car care careening into the water below, or when I'm on the subway
0:55.9	platform, and I think, what if somebody pushed me onto the tracks right now? Then I shake my head,
1:01.9	try to will the thought away. Psychologists call these intrusive thoughts. They are distressing,
1:09.0	repetitive, and unwanted, and they can disrupt our lives.
1:13.2	For NPR's senior visuals producer L.A. Johnson, they started happening after she gave
1:17.8	birth to her second child. Four days later, she was a wreck. She was in pain, sleep deprived,
1:24.8	and feeling anxious and sad. Her hormone levels were shifting dramatically.
1:29.8	That happens after giving birth.
1:32.1	Her mom suggested she take a bath to relax.
1:35.9	I drew a bath and got in, lit a candle and closed my eyes,
1:41.3	took a deep breath and sighed.
	...

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